The Unqualified Culinary Critics

Unknown Speaker 0:00
Hi, I'm Sierra Amin.

Unknown Speaker 0:02
I'm Chloe.

Unknown Speaker 0:03
I'm Ashley.

Unknown Speaker 0:04
And we're the unqualified culinary critics, a podcast centered around food and cultural experiences. We want you to only share our own experiences. But hope these stories connect some way to each one of you as well.

Unknown Speaker 0:16
And today, we're gonna kind of go over and take a deep dive into Ashley and her experiences with food and culture and see what her upbringing has brought her in those experiences. So with that, Ashley, go ahead and take us away.

Unknown Speaker 0:30
Oh, man, I feel like I'm talking my whole life story here. Yeah. So just a bit about me. I'm actually born and raised in California. And then I've been here for over 15 years. And I've gotten through a lot in terms of trying lots of food. And it's been pretty good so far. I'm Asian American. And I've tried a lot of Asian cuisines. So I've had Chinese food, I've had Indian, I've had Filipino Thai. Besides that, I've also had Mexican, I've had Italian, I've even had fine dining. I've traveled the world for over 10 years, because I've had the experience of being able to see my see different places across the globe. I've been to Europe, I've been to Asia, the whole North America, but not all the states here and not all the provinces in Canada and Mexico, etc. So basically, all the places that I've been to, I've tried a lot of things. Mainly, I'm still a picky person. I do eat not too many things. I'm pretty selective, but that's okay. I mean, I'm really open to trying new things overall. That's kind of just a basic about my life. So what's your questions today?

Unknown Speaker 1:41
So were in will so you talked about that you went to like other countries? So where did you travel to? Like, where else or so like, Where specifically in Europe?

Unknown Speaker 1:50
I've been to France. I've been to Italy, Hungary, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland. So I've just been all over. But not I haven't been like the entire Europe. I want to go to UK. I want to see more of Switzerland. I mean, besides Do you can go to Scotland. I'm pretty sure there's other places that I want to go to, to that I haven't mentioned, but I'm still opening open to traveling. Excuse me.

Unknown Speaker 2:13
So in California, what we're in California you from? I'm from

Unknown Speaker 2:18
the LA area to okay, like Ian, I'm from the east part of LA. So pico Rivera, like Whittier around that area?

Unknown Speaker 2:27
Because I was gonna say, La is a big city with a lot of different cultures. And I was gonna say or ask, I guess, did that open you up to trying new things, because there's so many different kinds of food in that area.

Unknown Speaker 2:41
It's because of my parents is because of my my grandparents, too, you know, they want to go try like a certain dish. And, you know, like, I bring everybody including myself with them. And as a result, I've been exposed to what they want to try and what they're eating. So when I was trying that stuff out, it's either I like it, or I don't like the food, but not against a culture, but just maybe a particular dish that I like, or don't like, you know,

Unknown Speaker 3:07
I think one question I have is like throughout your all your traveling what was like the most memorable country with like, the most memorable food,

Unknown Speaker 3:16
my favorite place to travel to is Switzerland in the Philippines. I like Switzerland, because I just love the scenery. I like how green it is. It's just really beautiful. The Philippines has, I mean, I have cousins who are who lived on my mom's side, and they have good food. There's crispy PATA, there's bullet, I'm sorry, I'm not saying it correctly. There's a fish, butter chicken and all that. And I have family who are respectful as to what my food choices are like, I will not eat pork. So they're not going to make pork for me, they're not going to force me to eat it. But the way that the cuisine there that they make it just it tastes pretty good. And it's kind of separate from, you know, like the Switzerland and the Philippines thing because when Switzerland I think is a combination of German and French food. And I've had fun, do dare like twice. And I think it's good to I don't really have a huge saying on exactly everything. Because I've only been to Switzerland twice in my life, but I haven't been there for a whole week. So I don't know what other dishes they serve. But I mean, I like that stuff overall, too.

Unknown Speaker 4:19
I want to know, if because you've been to a lot more countries then I'm sure a lot of people have you ever had anything here maybe in Vegas or California that's comparable to the actual countries with that kind of food, like Italy, France,

Unknown Speaker 4:37
from my memory, it's probably pizza. I think the way that pizza is prepared here in Italy is in their own respective ways. So I'm not going to say which one I like better because you know, different country, different kinds of ingredients, water and all that stuff. But I would probably say definitely with pizza.

Unknown Speaker 4:53
Is there like a dish that like you dream about sometimes that you have like in Europe or in Asia or whatever that you're like I'm craving that right now. I wish I could have like a bite.

Unknown Speaker 5:02
There's like this dish that is just came to my head. I don't know if I had it when I was in China or in the Philippines, but it's just basically a there's noodles, egg noodles, and then there's beef broth and, and beef brisket and you put bok choy in it. And you can just eat it with the chopstick and spoon or fork and spoon. I kind of creeped out a little bit and haven't had that in years, admittedly.

Unknown Speaker 5:23
So growing up in LA, as you know, there's so many like chains of restaurants and bigger businesses, what was like your go to restaurant that you and your family would go to like, consistently that was kind of like a smaller hole in the wall place like a family on business.

Unknown Speaker 5:38
I don't know if those restaurants that I've been to our family owned. I'm not too sure. I haven't really met the owners. And I was pretty young at the time. But I remember we've been to a couple of Chinese restaurants, one near my grandma's house, which is called elites off of Atlantic. And then there's another one called embassy, which is actually one of my favorite restaurants that I haven't been to in a long time. And those two restaurants serve pretty good authentic Chinese food. And it's just there's a lot of dishes that I really enjoyed. They're like Westlake soup, or Chicken Corn Soup. Hong Kong style crispy noodles, sweet and sour fish with the sauce separate please. Noodles, and chicken and all that good stuff.

Unknown Speaker 6:17
Do you have any favorite meals that maybe your parents cooked or you cooked with them or any other family members from when you were younger?

Unknown Speaker 6:26
Well, my mom likes to cook a lot of Filipino meals. So I don't know exactly what the name of the leaves are that she would tell me. But sometimes I'd help her we would go to the market and then she would buy those leaves. And then I would help her sometimes just take those off. And then she would put coconut milk and then just mix it in and have maybe some fish. And then sometimes she would even have this smoked fish as well. And then we had rice and then a different style of corned beef. And it would just be like a Filipino breakfast and I really do like that.

Unknown Speaker 6:57
So like when you were growing up, were you kind of what did you have to celebrate your birthday? Do you have like cake, chocolate vanilla, were you a cupcake kid.

Unknown Speaker 7:06
While growing up, I used to eat sweets. And then I had a thing of my throat which is like a tonsil problem and kind of runs in my family. And you know tonsillitis is a virus that can spread direct contact. And or if you share something with someone, that's what tonsillitis does to you and just get like a cold or if you're lucky, it goes away. I used it like a expect in candy and cupcakes and stuff, even chocolate. But I got older, I just don't really care much about those things anymore. And my throat is a good way to deter me from going in that direction. I would lie more towards eating fruit or drinking juice, I get that those are sweet too. But I think it's healthier than candy and all those sweet stuff that like dessert that a lot of people would eat.

Unknown Speaker 7:51
Okay, now I could have misheard you earlier when you were listing off some countries. But you said the what's it called the balut? Yeah, that's the one with the duck egg. Correct? Have you tried that? And is it good? How is it?

Unknown Speaker 8:06
I haven't tried it? I've heard about it. I don't want to look at it. And I don't want to eat it. Because it just looks. Personally I feel bad for the duck. It's like to me, they just put it in an incubator, and then they just halfway to it, they just stop and they've season it and then just sell it. But that's the way it is. That's what they want to do. I'm not going to condemn him and say that you're doing it all wrong and all that that's just the kind of fruit they want to put out there. And it's okay, but I'm just not going to eat it. I don't want to try is just not not really for me.

Unknown Speaker 8:38
Yeah, I actually used to have a co worker who would always he would get it probably like once or twice a week. And he would always try and tempt me to try it. And I wanted to try it just to find out because if it tastes good, I mean, why not? But seeing the the duck egg and seeing the duck like the way it is? Yeah, would determine if you would have just like blindfolded me or something and said just try this. I might have done it. But knowing and seeing it like with your own eyes, making that connection is tough. Yes, absolutely. But it is a cultural food and they swear by it that it tastes good. And that's like a delicacy so that's what always I was like they all like you. I can't be they can't all be just wrong.

Unknown Speaker 9:19
Yeah, that's I understand it too. Yeah, I agree because like sometimes some countries delete dog and I mean that's just them. I mean, I won't eat dog I won't, but I won't. I like to respect its its space and I asked her does the same thing to I mean some people they'll eat dogs sometimes they'll eat kangaroo and stuff and that's just where they're at. You know, my when my dad was still alive, he would eat delicacies. I think he tried to and I don't know if he liked it or would eat it again. I don't remember but he he was more adventurous when it comes to food and I am.

Unknown Speaker 9:51
I think you brought up a good point that like it just depends on people's like the way they look at animals or the way the thing other things I know. I can't remember what southern South American country it was but I know one of them down there. They eat guinea pigs and like that's a delicacy today. They fried guinea pigs and they'll just I saw it on TV like a Discovery Channel thing. And they had it was like a whole like smoker type deal of just guinea pigs lined up

Unknown Speaker 10:14
like Ikea makes their meatballs with horses. Yeah, is a really don't like a thing. Yeah. And then like they were doing it to Americans and Americans were like, oh, no, that's not how we roll. Yeah, yeah.

Unknown Speaker 10:24
And it's just the way different cultures look at animals differently.

Unknown Speaker 10:28
What's the country that has that you know of that has the most kind of different culture that you've seen, like how we're just talking about, I mean, guinea pigs getting fried up? Or like the duck eggs? Like, which country? Have you witnessed with the most kind of outlandish food compared

Unknown Speaker 10:46
to America? Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 10:47
it's a very good question, because I think all of the countries that I've been to has their own style of preparing delicacies. When I went to Europe, Asia, it's like two years ago. So and that's 10 years back, I would say. So I'm like, maybe 11 or 12. Back then. So I don't know, I wasn't really fully paying attention to what the food they were serving there. But I would say that, I mean, hey, it's just, it's just what they want to do.

Unknown Speaker 11:13
Is there any country that you're like, dying to go to because of their food,

Unknown Speaker 11:17
I don't know if I can say because of their food fully. But I just want to see the area, I would I want to go to Singapore, I want to you know, I do want to go to Japan, it just came to me, I do want to go to Japan, I just I like the food there, too. I want to just see the scenery, I just want to see what that country has to offer, along with Singapore and other countries to die, I just want to go to

Unknown Speaker 11:38
Yeah, I think that's so interesting, though, because the more you travel, the more you're going to see. And the more you're going to learn from other cultures, and you've had an opportunity to see so many. And I think that's very unique, because it gives you a different perspective perspective on people really. And I think a different respect for people as well, because we don't all grew up the same. And we do all grew up different. So being able to see different ways of life is so it's not only eye opening, but it's also educational, because you're learning you're learning while you're there. And while you're seeing it all. Absolutely, I think that's a cool experience that you have not many other people have an opportunity to do. So

Unknown Speaker 12:14
when you have come back or you know, go out to a restaurant or anything. Are you ever like, oh my gosh, I bet I could recreate this at home. Do you ever try and do that?

Unknown Speaker 12:22
No, actually, I don't feel that motivated. I just want to go to the restaurant, get the stuff they really like or try something new, and then just eat it. And then just rave about it and tell my family Oh, it tastes good. Or, Oh, I recommend going there. And that's basically it.

Unknown Speaker 12:36
Would you say you think America has its own kind of like specific kind of food? Like do you think that like Italy? Spaghetti pizza all that do you think besides just like hamburgers and hot dogs? Do you think that we have our own like pretty distinct kind of food?

Unknown Speaker 12:56
I think it depends on the person overall the way they perceive it, because it just really that one to me, I can be ambiguous because I think a lot of people can really go more in depth with that, especially if they're from another country. I can't really give a really good answer on that. But I would say that it really depends on the person's perception. I think that I mean I would say that we do have our own kind of food and that's just it's not just a fast food but I think that when other people from other countries come in and they want to bring their recipes and and a lot of people who are not from that country want to try it out and you know, recreate that their way then I don't know if I can say it becomes Americanized, but I think it's just a way of them trying to kind of put their put that person's they want to go into that person's perspective. You know if that makes any sense. So to me it just depends on the person

Unknown Speaker 13:52
I actually think you pose like an interesting question with that though because America technically there was a conglomerate it is it's right where the melting pot right that's what that's what they call America and and there was at the beginning of the country there was so many different people coming here from different European countries or wherever mixing and mashing their cuisines into what now is technically an American cuisine is like your hamburgers, your steak your potatoes do this and that but all that came from other cultures. And it just became Americanized because American tomatoes

Unknown Speaker 14:24
and stuff like that they make pasta out of or not possible you know, whatever that's not native to Italy right like back like older they never it's just interesting to think like they were always the spaghetti and meatballs like people but I guess one question I have for you is do you have like a favorite like burger place? Like are you like an in and out? Will you only eat five guys like do you have like a favorite like that?

Unknown Speaker 14:46
Only in and out? I trust in and out because I don't eat pork? And I don't know for sure if places like Burger King or McDonald's will put pork in their patties? I don't I don't know even though they say it's like 100% beef. I would rather just Go somewhere that I can trust because my dad had a friend who is an inspector in meat and he says that the in and out meat they didn't know they didn't not patties. It's 100% beef. So definitely in and out.

Unknown Speaker 15:12
Where's your favorite fries?

Unknown Speaker 15:14
That in my opinion is anywhere. It depends. If it's if it's hot, if it's lightly salted, I like it and outs too. But I can say it's like my ultimate favorite. I like Jack in the boxes. I like in and out. It also depends on what sandwich place I go to. So there's there's a lot of other places out there that I totally recommend and prefer

Unknown Speaker 15:36
underrated curly fries, Arby's. No, no, now, you know,

Unknown Speaker 15:41
I haven't been to Arby's in years. I will tell you that right now.

Unknown Speaker 15:44
Do you drink soda?

Unknown Speaker 15:45
No, I used to. And then it's just like I said earlier, it's too sweet. And it's just too much. So I think that it's best that I just avoid all that sugar is stuff. And anything that outrages me is that in a small can it's like estimate for 40 grams of sugar. And you put that in here. So come on, I don't want to get diabetes from that. I don't want to get another kind of health issue from that from drinking that all the time. I'm going for orange juice, I'm going for apple juice or whatever. But hopefully not too much sugar as well. I mean, just look at the back horse has nutritional facts, but I just will not touch soda anymore. It's just not for me.

Unknown Speaker 16:22
Do you like drink?

Unknown Speaker 16:24
I tried to be clean. I've tried wine a couple of times, but it's just not my style.

Unknown Speaker 16:28
I have a question. So like going on to drinks when you've traveled. Obviously, obviously, Coke and Pepsi products are everywhere, because those are worldwide corporations now. But like, have you had like a traditional soda from a specific country?

Unknown Speaker 16:43
I don't remember. Maybe a different kind of juice brand. In the Philippines. I don't remember the brand. But I think I didn't have soda from any of those countries that I've been to. I don't think so. Do you drink coffee? Sometimes, but I usually drink rice coffee, which is basically yeah, you just burn the rice and then you grind it and then you just I know it sounds really different

Unknown Speaker 17:09
in three episodes, and we've never heard about rice. Yeah, I

Unknown Speaker 17:12
was gonna say you should explain that completely. Because I'm so curious on what rice coffee is.

Unknown Speaker 17:16
I can just tell you a little bit I can from how I can remember it right now. But basically my mom would just we would go to store. She gets pack of rice. I can't specify what kind of rice Yeah, I have to check with her to see and she just goes out to the backyard. Hopefully when there's not a lot of people and dogs and just puts the rice on the pan. Let it burn and then just grind it and then I think she put water in it. And when I come downstairs she's

Unknown Speaker 17:41
got any actual like coffee beans. No. So interesting rice. Like both of them. And it's almost like like, burnt rice water,

Unknown Speaker 17:50
basically flavored water with

Unknown Speaker 17:53
almost like a tea but

Unknown Speaker 17:54
just rice doesn't have like any caffeine. Do you sweeten it?

Unknown Speaker 17:57
No, I don't. I don't.

Unknown Speaker 18:00
I'm a sugar. So it's naturally sweet.

Unknown Speaker 18:02
I don't know, I know. I want to taste it just because this is so interesting to me. Come over.

Unknown Speaker 18:09
I've got an idea for one of the podcasts. Yeah, come over. It's coffee.

Unknown Speaker 18:13
Yeah. Interesting. I just want to know now.

Unknown Speaker 18:15
Yeah. And it's good for my stomach too. Because like I remember in the previous year, I've had some stomach issues. So my mom suggested I I tried it out because cousins in the Philippines day told my mom about it. And I went for it. And is it good? Yeah, it helps.

Unknown Speaker 18:29
But does it taste good? I like it. But I don't

Unknown Speaker 18:32
know if you would like to be a love haters is gonna be a love hate thing. You're gonna love it. Oh, it just tastes like burnt water.

Unknown Speaker 18:38
Rice. Not really burnt water. Rice and then oh, that's what I meant.

Unknown Speaker 18:42
Yeah, it's like it's a burnt rice tea. That's, I know I'm in I want to know,

Unknown Speaker 18:46
I wouldn't say it's tea because there's no leaves. Right, right. Yeah, it's just like a coffee ish kind of thing. But it's just the rice. Burn it put water.

Unknown Speaker 18:55
She's like you're mixing beans with the right. So I thought it would be and if we did that, we should make that. Yeah. And then

Unknown Speaker 19:03
also mixing the rice coffee mixture.

Unknown Speaker 19:06
Can you add anything to it? Or do you just drink it straight up?

Unknown Speaker 19:10
I usually just drink it straight up. But

Unknown Speaker 19:12
she's fascinating. You have to be you could Wow. There are no rules to this rice water. Coffee. Yeah, I

Unknown Speaker 19:21
mean, get creative, but don't like mess up your body DOH.

Unknown Speaker 19:25
So is it a traditional recipe? Because he said it was from your Filipino cousin's? Right.

Unknown Speaker 19:32
I don't know if I can say it's a recipe. I guess now it is a recipe now. Yeah, actually. Yeah. But a remedy maybe? Yeah. Remedy. I would say that. Yeah.

Unknown Speaker 19:41
We're learning so much today. Yeah. The standard in

Unknown Speaker 19:44
school. Right. Or that I've learned? Yeah, in Sweden this week, probably. And this

Unknown Speaker 19:49
is useful information. Because if it helps us stomach problems, and that's more than learning about the Pythagorean Theorem did for us. Yeah. Right.

Unknown Speaker 19:58
Yeah. Okay. So this right recipe for rice water is wild. There's actual recipes so you you cook the rice but then you then you get it to like a deep dark brown color it says then you store it and then when you go to actually make it it's a mixture of rice water, they use brown sugar and milk.

Unknown Speaker 20:15
I didn't do it that way my mom didn't do it that way. But that's that's one way to do it but my mom just burns in the pan grinds it and then just pulls it with water just pours out in and then there you go. It's just the simplest way

Unknown Speaker 20:29
that you would like with your like little rice breakfast and stuff that you eat.

Unknown Speaker 20:33
That's what I was thinking and that's why I was like I gotta find out because to me it sounds similar to what I had for breakfast but

Unknown Speaker 20:38
honestly, once you heard that she was burnin on a pan, you're like we would just put rice

Unknown Speaker 20:42
and milk in a microwave and just say have at it. So I to me, I'm like that's probably gonna taste good.

Unknown Speaker 20:48
It's vegan, so anybody can go for it. I'll send the recipe.

Unknown Speaker 20:52
Yeah, so the recipe the recipe said soy milk as well. So

Unknown Speaker 20:56
oh, you can do that too.

Unknown Speaker 20:57
Fascinating. Okay, favorite fast food place go

Unknown Speaker 21:01
in and out again, but I'll go for it last night. I can go to Subway. Subway Firehouse Subs, but if I'm being asked one in and out least favorite Burger King or McDonald's.

Unknown Speaker 21:15
That's fair.

Unknown Speaker 21:15
Yeah. I swear I swear like the chart. That's yeah,

Unknown Speaker 21:19
I think it's because I'm from California and elsewhere buy in and out forever.

Unknown Speaker 21:22
Yeah. Well, and I think that those places like I mean, I know they're all fast food but McDonald's and Burger King Go way more quantity than quality to they just give you crappy burgers. And they're like, Here you go.

Unknown Speaker 21:35
You just get what you pay for. Exactly. Literally.

Unknown Speaker 21:37
It's also so cheap though. Like it's I don't know how much of McDonald's burger is but I feel like it's really comparable to in and out which is so different quality and ingredients. And I don't know taste.

Unknown Speaker 21:49
It's just the I don't know how I don't know

Unknown Speaker 21:51
their prices. I don't know how that works.

Unknown Speaker 21:53
Like in and out burgers like less than $2. You don't get like a soda. You don't get whatever just

Unknown Speaker 21:59
with a burger.

Unknown Speaker 22:00
I think you haven't been in and out in a long time. Yeah, I

Unknown Speaker 22:01
feel you have I think you think I look at the price. I'm just like, whatever out for dinner charge.

Unknown Speaker 22:07
Yeah, it's definitely more than that. I'm like, let me look at the price before

Unknown Speaker 22:12
I go. I like to be surprised. I look at my bank account.

Unknown Speaker 22:16
That's terrifying to me. Yeah. So favorite is in and out. Okay, so what's like, what's like your favorite? Like, do you like shakes or like smoothie?

Unknown Speaker 22:26
A pleasure. Guilty pleasure. Like yeah,

Unknown Speaker 22:29
my guilty pleasures in chips. And I shouldn't be doing that a lot. So I don't do it a lot. I like popcorn. And I don't like good caramel. I'm not a caramel go.

Unknown Speaker 22:38
I'm a I love

Unknown Speaker 22:39
crunch. Crunch as in like

Unknown Speaker 22:42
crunch. Oh, popcorn. Yeah, it's good. Love chips. I just love some crunch.

Unknown Speaker 22:46
Yeah, some unhealthy popcorn ready? Make sure you get your popcorn. You melt some butter on the side with it.

Unknown Speaker 22:52
Oh, yeah. Yeah, movie theater popcorn. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 22:55
it's a good get it layered.

Unknown Speaker 22:59
But if I had to go for something healthy, be like a smoothie. either. It's from I don't know, Tropical Smoothie, or Jamba Juice, but mostly from my kitchen that my mom would make.

Unknown Speaker 23:10
Do you think that as you're starting to get older that you're gonna start learning from your mom and learn how to cook for yourself and kind of carry that on?

Unknown Speaker 23:19
Oh, yeah, definitely. Because it's, it's very important, especially if she's cooking from her family like what she learned from her family, it's good to pass it on to her our offsprings because, you know, it's better that way. And I think

Unknown Speaker 23:33
that's also good, just kind of carrying on whatever kind of culture, yeah, traditions, all that. And it's just fun cooking. I feel like it's a bonding experience with people. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 23:45
yeah. That's why is because it is such a big part of my family. So I would imagine it would be the same. And it is a bonding experience, like you said, so it's a good thing to want to do and then pass on after you as well.

Unknown Speaker 23:58
Yeah. Well, thank you for telling us a bit more about you and your food experience. I felt like we learned a whole bunch more about you

Unknown Speaker 24:05
definitely.

Unknown Speaker 24:06
Especially with that rice cough. Yeah. All right.

Unknown Speaker 24:08
That's the biggest takeaway of the day and i i may be making myself some rice coffee here pretty soon. We

Unknown Speaker 24:13
need instant reviews. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 24:14
I'll give you that. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 24:16
don't worry. It'll be coming.

Unknown Speaker 24:18
Alrighty, well, hope you like me, even though I don't have much of an opinion for everything. But I mean, hey, I'm growing just like all of you are. So taste buds change. Well, I was like, yeah, thank you for listening.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai